IIT Kharagpur launches India’s 1st accelerated pavement testing facility
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New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has launched India’s first Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility (K-APTF), representing a major milestone in the country’s road infrastructure research and development. Developed using indigenous technology, this low-cost, easy-to-maintain facility is designed to evaluate the performance of both traditional and innovative pavement materials and systems.
Sponsored by the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), the K-APTF is aimed at supporting the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). It will generate critical performance data to validate and revise pavement design guidelines tailored to Indian conditions, particularly for low-volume rural roads.
NRIDA Director General and MoRD Joint Secretary Amit Shukla hailed the facility as a transformative platform for innovation and hands-on learning. “This Accelerated Pavement Test Facility will serve as a powerful catalyst for research and innovation, offering young researchers a unique platform to explore pavement mechanics and performance modelling. It will also provide invaluable hands-on experience for students, enabling them to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application,” he said.
He praised the efforts of the Transportation Division of IIT Kharagpur in establishing the state-of-the-art facility and urged the faculty to maximise its potential in advancing sustainable and practical engineering solutions.
With the government placing strong emphasis on rural infrastructure through schemes like PMGSY, the need to update and validate road design standards for diverse conditions has become increasingly urgent. The K-APTF provides a vital solution, offering accelerated and real-time performance evaluation of pavement materials and technologies under simulated traffic conditions.
Beyond performance testing, the facility will help assess the suitability of locally sourced and non-conventional materials, enable cost-effective and timely validation of innovative systems, and contribute to the creation of a comprehensive database on pavement behaviour. These capabilities are expected to form the basis for more rational adoption of new road-building technologies and lead to updates in current pavement design catalogues and procedures.
With IANS inputs
